U.S. Federal Prosecutors Indict 4 More in Conspiracy Involving 'Hamas Symbols' Threatening Detroit Jewish Community and University of Michigan, Bringing Total Defendants to 12

Detroit, United States

U.S. federal prosecutors have indicted four additional individuals in a coordinated intimidation and vandalism case targeting the Jewish Federation of Detroit in Michigan, University of Michigan leadership, university police, and businesses perceived to be connected to Israel. Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, announced on October 30 (local time) that a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging four new individuals in connection with the case, bringing the total number of defendants to 12.

The newly indicted defendants are Henry David MacKeen-Shapiro (23), Aaron Hunter Vonbargen (25), Joseph Mark Fisher (23), and Srishti Tarana Sharma (23). According to prosecutors, MacKeen-Shapiro and Vonbargen were arrested by law enforcement this week and were scheduled to make their initial court appearances on the day of the announcement. The other two remain at large.

"From Pharaoh to Hitler to Hamas... Those Who Terrorize the Jewish People Have Always Been the Bad Guys"

U.S. Attorney Gorgon stated, "These alleged attempts to terrorize our Jewish community and government officials are nothing new," adding, "From Pharaoh to Hitler to Hamas, those who terrorize the Jewish people have always been the bad guys. As Americans, our duty is to fight the bad guys."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan also posted the news of the four additional indictments and U.S. Attorney Gorgon's remarks on its official X account on the same day.

Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said, "Those who believe they can terrorize families and hide behind a group to evade accountability should think again. Justice will find you." She added, "These additional charges demonstrate the continued commitment of the FBI Detroit Field Office and the numerous local, state, and federal agencies supporting this investigation," expressing gratitude for the coordination and persistence of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and all partnering agencies.

The FBI Detroit Field Office reported the additional charges on its official X account on the same day, posting, "According to the superseding indictment, the defendants and unindicted conspirators developed detailed plans designed to intimidate the University of Michigan and various private businesses into cutting all perceived ties with Israel following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack." A link to the press release and an image were attached to the post.

According to the Superseding Indictment... Investigating Targets via Encrypted Messengers, Throwing Toxic Chemicals into Homes

According to the superseding indictment, the conspirators threatened targeted individuals that retaliation and criminal conduct would continue to escalate if their demands were not met. The superseding indictment unsealed that day specified that the conspirators utilized encrypted messaging apps, social media platforms, and overseas collaboration tools to research, identify, and target the victims.

According to the indictment, their criminal acts included spraying threatening graffiti, shattering windows, and hurling glass bottles containing toxic chemicals into private residences. The conspirators left symbols associated with Hamas, such as red handprints and inverted red triangles, at victims' homes and workplaces. Prosecutors announced that the inverted red triangle is a symbol utilized by Hamas to mark targets for assassination.

According to investigative authorities, the conspirators posted photographs of the attack scenes on social media alongside additional threatening language following the incidents. Prosecutors stated that these postings were intended not only to intimidate the direct victims, but also to broadcast their message to others in the community who supported Israel. The conspirators reportedly intended to demonstrate their resolve and intent to continue their crimes until their demands were satisfied.

According to prosecutors, the targets of intimidation included the Jewish Federation of Detroit, two University of Michigan regents and other university leadership, a University of Michigan police lieutenant, a University of Michigan student, and two businesses perceived to be connected to Israel. In its press release, the prosecution included posts published on the social media account '@safemich' alongside photographs of red handprints recovered from a defendant's mobile phone.

First Indictment in June..."Kill, Torment, and Terrorize"

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan previously announced on June 10, 2026, the initial indictment of eight individuals in connection with the case. The defendants indicted at that time were Zainab Aliasgar Hakim (23, of Canton, Michigan), Amatullah Aliasgar Hakim (21, of Ann Arbor, Michigan), Paige Elizabeth Feyock (26, of Ann Arbor), Ahmet Kerem Korkaya (28, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Jonathan Hongru Zou (22, of Ann Arbor), Alexander Matthew Sepulveda (23, of Chicago, Illinois), Mariam Muhammed Odeh (24, of Dearborn, Michigan), and Colin Hunter Weger (24, of Ann Arbor).

At the time, U.S. Attorney Gorgon stated, "In America, we are governed by laws, not fear," adding, "These threats and attempts to terrorize public officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation are anti-American. We will meet intimidation with justice." Special Agent in Charge Runyan stated, "In the dead of night, masked and hooded defendants threw toxic chemicals through the windows of family homes and posted lists of demands on front doors," noting that "at every step, they attempted to cover their tracks and destroy evidence of their crimes." She stated that the multi-state operation spanned Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, leading to the arrests of multiple defendants.

According to the June announcement, the FBI Detroit Field Office led the investigation, supported by the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security, police departments in Ann Arbor, Huntington Woods, Plymouth City, Bloomfield Township, Canton, Chicago, Southfield, Novi, Romulus, West Bloomfield, and Ypsilanti, as well as the Michigan State Police, Eastern Michigan University Police Department, Michigan Intelligence Operations Center, and the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

According to prosecutors, following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, the defendants and unindicted conspirators embarked on a series of coordinated "actions" to intimidate University of Michigan leadership, law enforcement, and businesses. The conspirators publicly asserted that they must "escalate, mobilize, and organize actions to demand divestment by any means necessary."

According to the indictment at the time, the defendants posted demands directed at University of Michigan leadership on social media on October 20, 2023. They demanded that the university execute a "full and complete divestment" from Israel and all companies that support Israel. Dissatisfied with the university's response, the defendants "prepared to act" against leadership through so-called "autonomous actions." These included forcibly entering and occupying university buildings, vandalizing structures, and blockading or disrupting campus events.

According to the indictment, the defendants convened meetings to select targets for their "autonomous actions" and used the internet to research personal information about the targets, including home addresses, photographs, political and social ties, and business ownership details. They also discussed methods to harm the targets and their families, including poisons, explosives, and psychological torture. On May 21, 2024, Feyock and Korkaya, who was then a medical student, agreed to "kill," "torment," and "terrorize" targets and their families. Korkaya stated that one victim's "whole family" was on his "hit list." Feyock added that they needed to "get" the "kids" of two victims.

According to the indictment, the defendants traveled to the homes and businesses of targets at night to spray-paint threatening messages and symbols. These included inverted red triangles used by Hamas in military videos to mark assassination targets, red handprints symbolizing the 2000 Ramallah lynching and the murder of two Israeli reservists during the Second Intifada, and slogans such as "INTIFADA" and "DIVEST NOW." The defendants left threatening demand letters, sealed doors with caulk, secured entrances with bicycle locks, shattered windows, and threw glass bottles containing butyric acid and dye into homes. They photographed the vandalism and posted the images online alongside phrases such as "you cannot hide" and "we only come back stronger." Prosecutors also released photographs of threatening graffiti sprayed onto the Jewish Federation of Detroit building on the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

Witness Tampering and Destruction of Evidence Charges Also Filed

The June indictment also charged Zainab Hakim and Feyock with witness tampering. According to the indictment, the two planned to visit a University of Michigan student whom they suspected was cooperating with federal authorities to persuade the student not to provide information regarding the defendants' criminal conduct. Feyock told other conspirators that this student "has to be neutralized" and said she would conduct a "strip search" to see if the student was wearing a recording device. Hakim stated that the student "is going to send us to federal prison." Hakim and Feyock visited the student on August 6, 2024.

Sepulveda was charged with destruction of property to prevent seizure. According to the indictment, Sepulveda and Zou threw two glass bottles containing a blue substance and food compost through the window of a University of Michigan provost's residence and spray-painted an inverted red triangle and words including "Divest." When law enforcement authorities attempted to execute a search warrant on Sepulveda's home in April 2025, an unindicted co-conspirator notified him via an encrypted group chat, and Sepulveda erased the contents of his mobile phone and laptop.

According to prosecutors, if convicted, Conspiracy to Transmit a Threat carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison, Conspiracy to Tamper with a Witness carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and Destruction of Property to Prevent Seizure carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison, with each charge also carrying a fine of up to $250,000. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Resnick Cohen, Maggie Smith, Matthew Roth, and Robert Kuhn are prosecuting the case.

The charges in a superseding indictment are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sources (KST)

• U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan press release, "U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Four Additional Defendants in Sprawling Conspiracy Terrorizing Jewish Community, University of Michigan Officials" (2026-10-30): https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-four-additional-defendants-sprawling-conspiracy
• U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan press release, "Department of Justice indicts eight conspirators who threatened University of Michigan officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation" (2026-06-10): https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/department-justice-indicts-eight-conspirators-who-threatened-university-michigan
• FBI Detroit Field Office official X post (2026-10-30): https://x.com/FBIDetroit/status/2116281557958721542
• U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan official X post (2026-10-30): https://x.com/USAO_MIE/status/2116200652686639200